Girls thriving on coed Shore hockey teams but should they have more teams of their own?

On the first day of February, the Southern Regional High School ice hockey team was locked in a tight battle with divisional rival Lacey. The Rams led the Lions 1-0 with less than three minutes remaining when the puck found its way to Number 21 of Southern to the right of the goal.

No. 21 collects the puck along the boards and knows what's coming. As a Lacey defender prepares a hit, 21 darts back. The only thing left for the attempt at physicality is the ice kicked up from the skates. 21 works back and before a second overzealous hit can come, slips a pass to Southern's leading scorer Andrew Buda, who subsequently finds Aidan Ruiz for a goal in the crease to seal the 2-0 victory with two minutes remaining.

It would be an astute clutch play for any high school player - drawing defenders and creating open space for the winning goal - but 21 simply is not just any hockey player, despite 21's reluctance to admit it. Number 21 is sophomore girl Callie Siek, and she is one of many girls in New Jersey who prove that even in one of the most physical and violent high school sports, the girls can play with the boys.

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"I was like, okay, I'm gonna tip it in and skate my heart out to the puck, see where everyone was," Siek said. "I saw Buda did a cycle and crash the net and Aidan was there to finish."

The simplicity of her explanation is a testament to the focus of these female athletes. She's just a player, articulating the vision that led to a score. But Siek also just spurred the play that sealed the win for her team, which would continue on a five-game win streak that culminated with a championship - the Dowd Cup - in the second flight of the Shore Conference Tournament. More than that, she exemplified that the girls can play with the boys. But still there's that pesky question: should they?

NJSIAA ready to fully sanction girls hockey

Three weeks before Southern's victory over Lacey, the NJSIAA executive committee voted to approve girls hockey to potentially become a fully sanctioned sport at the year-end vote May. The move would mean that if girls hockey is offered at a high school, then girls would have to play for that team as opposed to the current co-ed opportunities that exist.

Currently there are only 11 public schools fielding girls hockey teams, meaning for the foreseeable future many girls will continue to have co-ed options available to them if they choose. There are undoubtedly benefits for the majority of girl athletes that come with the sport expanding into being sanctioned, but there is the possibility that sometime down the line an outlier such as Siek, who thrives in a high school boys sport, would not exist.

Siek says all that is not on her radar. She just plays.

"I'm really lucky to be able to play with them," she said. "And like show again that girls can keep up with boys."

What is even more impressive is the sophomore's ability to assume starkly different team roles on a day-to-day basis. Naturally, she is an elite player on her girls travel team as that season coincides with Southern Regional's scholastic season. On the boys team, she has to assume the position of a savvy role player.

"On my girls team I'm a captain, so I'm really like a leader for them," Siek said. "And then for the boys team, I'm just like a team player. Like, there for everyone and look for everyone for a pass."

While Siek is locked in and straight-forward in speaking about her game on the ice, her mother concedes that there are a lot of complex dynamics that come with her elaborate hockey career.

"I love it and I'm fearful at the same time," Joelle Siek said. "I know hitting is part of the game, she expects it. But there is a fear, you've got bigger boys, grown men with beards. And she's aware of it too. She's aware of her size, she's aware of her speed. I think she plays smart."

As creative and resilient as Callie is on the ice, there's a burden that sometimes comes with playing on boys hockey teams.

"She's played on teams where she's the only girl," Joelle added. "And you can see the social part of it."

Southern has three girls on its roster and is among a handful of Shore teams with multiple girls; there are several teams with only one. The determination to compete on the ice in that environment is only part of the battle in addition to the social dynamics.

And therein lies more of the conundrum that in part also raises the notion of the true purpose of high school sports. The ability to compete in a truly neutral and equal environment is a fascinating opportunity, but there is crucial importance in girls having their own athletic spaces to thrive and socialize.

'Sweet Caroline': Trinity Hall is a thriving space for girls hockey

The week before Siek helped finish off Southern's win over Lacey, Trinity Hall was locked in a battle against Kent Place. The Monarchs held a solid 3-1 lead heading into the final period as they aimed to close out tense game against a divisional foe.

But that didn't stop the team from taking part in their jovial home tradition between the second and third periods. Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" blasted through the speakers and the players and coaches took part on the home bench while a contingent of students sung along across the ice. The smiles were infectious as the players belted out the lyrics.

"It's a song that's been played at every single home game since I've taken over as head coach," said Trinity Hall coach Frankie Francese. "It's a time for them to kind of step away from the game and enjoy the fact that they're just with their friends on the ice, doing something they love. They try to interact with the fans at that moment, just to kind of remember it's a game. It's something you should really enjoy doing. Take the pressure off for 60 seconds."

If anything, that joyful moment only propelled the team forward as the Monarchs finished off a 4-2 victory with a goal in the final period.

After they sealed the win, star goaltender Katie Cisar was awarded with an inscribed glass puck to commemorate her 1,000th career save, a milestone she achieved in the first period. The student section of the all-girls school had signs and four balloons spelling out "1,000" and passed them down so the sophomore could pose for photos. The camaraderie between players and student fans is unmatched by any high school hockey team in the Shore.

"It was celebrated by everybody equally, that was what I think was so cool about it," said Francese. "Sixteen other girls on the bench were just as excited because it was really a team goal."

Cisar can and does play boys hockey, just not at the interscholastic level. She plays for the Jersey Shore Wildcats U16A boys team that just won the AHF championship. Furthermore, the state's current career leader in saves is Bayonne's Sydney Fogu, a junior who will play collegiately for the girls team at NCAA hockey powerhouse Boston University. As it happens, Fogu's father was Southern head coach Graham Borg's roommate when they were teammates at Western New England University.

As far as the possibility of girls hockey becoming a fully sanctioned NJSIAA sports, naturally Francese is a fan of the progress. He's been at the forefront of growing the game in his five years coaching at Trinity Hall.

"I think it's great for the girls," he said. "It's great to be recognized by the NJSIAA as a sanctioned sport now. I think it gives a lot of credibility to our program."

But in the case of Trinity Hall, there's clearly a deeper importance than merely achieving the highest competitive benchmark possible. Ten of the Monarchs' 17 players had never played hockey before joining the team at Trinity Hall. One of those players became a starter and primary defensive stopper this past season as the team finished with a strong 11-8-2 record, all the while creating vast opportunities for girls to get involved in sports and their school community.

"I could certainly understand where some of these girls say, 'I want to take it to the next level and want to compete with the boys,'" said Francese. "It's not like that opportunity has been taken away from them permanently. But I think it's great that they have a sheet of ice to call their own."

Southern 'making everything fit together' in Dowd Cup win

Two weeks after the victory over Lacey, the red-hot Rams were in the midst of a title-winning blowout.

Southern was playing in the Dowd Cup final against Toms River South-East at Jersey Shore Arena, and in the third period the Rams ran away with it after two goals in the first two minutes to take a 4-1 lead. After their first and second lines (including Siek) had secured the win, senior Julia Wheeler took the ice.

Wheeler is in her first year with the team and brought a unique perspective since moving to New Jersey from Minnesota. Of course in the North Star State, hockey has a massive presence in the sports zeitgeist. But there are no opportunities for co-ed hockey at the high school level. For Julia, this season meant she could play with her younger brother Nicholas, a junior at Southern.

"It's different because in Minnesota, there's no such thing as a girl on a boys hockey team," Nicholas said. "But now it's like normal and she's one of the boys."

That fun moniker underscores a deeper point, she's part of the team.

"Obviously having my brother on the team really helped me connect with the guys," Julia added. "The girls obviously, they're like my little sisters. I love being there for them. I braid their hair before games, stuff like that."

There are multiple brother-sister teammate duos across the Shore, including two on Southern with the other being freshman Kayla Capecci and junior Jack Capecci. It's yet another unique opportunity provided by the current status of hockey in New Jersey.

"Julia, our senior, has taken Callie last year under her wing and really guided her," said Joelle Siek. "It goes back to the coaches. They set the tone. They set the expectations like this is a team sport, we're going to treat her and the other girls as team members."

As a senior captain bearing the "A" on her jersey, Julia was on the ice in the final seconds as Southern sealed the 5-1 victory over Toms River SE.

"Julia Wheeler, one of our seniors, didn't see a lot of ice time in the second period," Southern coach Graham Borg said after the win. "She came in and had some opportunities in the third to score. And so, just buy in from everybody. Top to bottom, just a great group of kids."

As the players stormed the ice in the immediate aftermath of their Dowd Cup victory, the three girls found each other to celebrate. The dynamic is different from any other sport and any other group of champions, but the end result was the same joy of victory that is universal among high school athletics.

"I feel like it's just good to have a closer connection with your team," Julia said. "And I feel like that's kind of where I come in, just like making everything fit together, you know?"

The uniquely successful environment at Southern likely will not influence the NJSIAA decision In May. And the governing body will be faced with a decision that is not black and white in terms of what it means for progress for female hockey players. But there's clearly enough resilience among the girls for them to thrive in whatever athletic environment is built for them.

One thing is certain: the girls of New Jersey hockey are unlike anything else in athletics.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ hockey: Girls getting teams of their own? NJSIAA considers changes